What books are similar to The Rain Catchers?

The 10 closest matches to The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman on ReadingList include Catherine, Called Birdy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kids at Work, Make Lemonade, and Martha Graham. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.

Are books like The Rain Catchers reading-level appropriate?

Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.

How does ReadingList choose similar books?

Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Books like The Rain Catchers

If you liked The Rain Catchers, read Catherine, Called Birdy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Kids at Work — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared award lists and reading level.

Closest match: Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

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Looking for books like The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman (Children's · grades 4–9)? The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 4–9 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

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Why each is a match

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Catherine, Called Birdygrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Franklin Delano Rooseveltgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Kids at Workgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Make Lemonadegrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Martha Grahamgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Rules of the Road #1grades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
Small Stepsgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
Stones in Watergrades 4–9: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9). Amazon → books like this →
The Boy's Wargrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clarkgrades 4–10: Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10). Amazon → books like this →

Books like The Rain Catchers for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

The Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Wright Brothers by Russell Freedman · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like The Rain Catchers for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

The Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Wright Brothers by Russell Freedman · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Books like The Rain Catchers for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

The Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).
The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi · grades 4–9 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–9).
The Wright Brothers by Russell Freedman · grades 4–10 — Both on the Golden Kite Award list, same genre (Children's), and overlapping grades (4–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to The Rain Catchers?: The 10 closest matches to The Rain Catchers by Jean Thesman on ReadingList include Catherine, Called Birdy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Kids at Work, Make Lemonade, and Martha Graham. Each is scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 4–9), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like The Rain Catchers reading-level appropriate?: Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 4–9), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?: Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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